Steel wool swab

ABSTRACT

An abrading and polishing tool in the form of a swab with a wand having a head portion provided with barbs extending outwardly and rearwardly from the tip of the head with a wad of abrasive filamentous material such as steel wool, nylon or copper strands twisted or wound about the head portion and anchored thereto by the barbs, the handle portion being adapted for manual use or for insertion in a drill chuck.

llnited States Patent 191 Povill STEEL WOOL SWAB Jonathan W. Povill, 1503 Bainum Dr., Topanga, Calif. 90290 Filed: Oct. 30, 1972 Appl. No.: 302,077

Inventor:

US. Cl. 51/358, l5/104.165 llnt. Cl B2441 17/00 Field of Search 51/358, 764, 331, 332, 51/391, 393, 230.17, 230.19, 209 AH,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,256,478 2/1918 Vansen 15/104.165

Primary Exqminer-Othell M. Simpson [57] ABSTRACT An abrading and polishing tool in the form of a swab with a wand having a head portion provided with barbs extending outwardly and rearwardly from the tip of the head with a wad of abrasive filamentous material such as steel wool, nylon or copper strands twisted or wound about the head portion and anchored thereto by the barbs, the handle portion being adapted for manual use or for insertion in a drill chuck.

1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures STEEL WOOL SWAB This invention relates to a device for cleaning or polishing with an abrasive material, particularly in confined spaces where ordinary polishing pads and blocks cannot be used.

It is a general object of the invention to provide a device in the form of a wand having a handle and a head portion, the head portion being provided with integral projecting barbs and the abrasive material, such as steel wool, nylon or copper strands or the like are wound about the head and engaged by the barbs to anchor the abrasiveto the head, said abrasive material being somewhat in the form of a swab on a stick.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following description in connection with the accompanying drawmg:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a wand forming part of the device;

FIG. 2 is a side view in perspective of a drill chuck in broken lines suggesting the manner in which it can support the wand and showing the wand with the abrasive material thereon;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the upper portion of the head of the. wand illustrating the tip barbs in the process of manufacturing.

The device includes a wand 4 having an intermediate and lower smooth handle portion 6 and an upper or outer head portion 8. The wand 4 may be made of any suitable material but it is preferred that it be a rod of metal which is fairly strong and stiff.

' The head portion 8 is provided with barbs 10 struck from the side portions thereof, the barbs being sharply pointed and being directed outwardly and away from the upper end or tip. The tip comprises a pair of barbs 12 which may conveniently be formed in the manner indicated in FIG. 3 wherein the tip is provided with a split 14 inwardly from the upper end and the tip ortion twisted so that the tip barbs extend generally laterally outwardly in opposite directions as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Mounted on the head 8 of the wand 4 is a wad of filamentous material .16 which is of an abrasive substance, such as steel wool or strands or filaments of nylon, copper or the like. The specific material for the wad 16 would depend a good deal of course upon the specific type of abrading or polishing operation to be undertaken. The material of the wad 16 is wrapped or twisted about head 8 or the material of the wad may be held stationary and the the wad twisted to cause the barbs l0 and 12 to hook into the filamentous material and wind it upon the head portion 8. In this manner the steel wool or other abrasive material is twisted into a swab-like form and firmly anchored on the head.

My tool is distinguished from an ordinary cotton swab on a wooden stick in that it is not used for daubing medicines and for similar uses but is used to clean and polish surfaces, such as surfaces of metal which have become corroded in various manners. The abrasive material 16 must be held securely on the wand 4 as by the barbs 10 and 12 because the tool might be subjected to lateral rubbing movement or to endwise movement, depending upon the confined spaces into which the tool is inserted for the cleaning of the walls and adjacent portions thereof.

It is preferred that the abrasive material 16 be wound about the head 8 in a clockwise direction when viewed from the head end so that the handle can be mounted in an electric drill chuck, such as indicated at 18, and when rotated by the drill, the abrasive filaments will tend to remain wound upon the wand 4, rather than be unwound therefrom.

The device is quite useful in cleaning and polishing either functional or ornamental grill work where there are confined spaces and for other purposes where the access to the space to be polished or cleaned cannot readily be had in any other manner. Steel wool, nylon or other plastic or copper strands have been used heretofore in pad form for polishing relatively broad surfaces but the polishing of structures having confined spaced defined by surfaces to be polished is not entirely impractical but impossible with an ordinary pad of abrasive material. While it is true that small quantities of steel wool or other abradents can be used if they are grasped at either side of a grill work or similar structure, they soon pull apart and much of the abrasive material is wasted. With my device, the abrasive is firmly anchored on the head end of a wand so that it will have maximum effective life and highly efficient abrading or polishing action.

When a wad of abrasive material has been worn away, the wand 4'can be discarded, or the remains of the abrasive material can be removed therefrom and a new supply wound in place.

It will of course be understood that various changes can be made in the form, details, arrangements and portions of the various parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. An abrading and polishing device comprising a straight wire wand having a handle portion and a head portion, the tip of the head portion being split lengthwise and twisted to provide a pair of spaced opposed end hook elements, said head portion having barbs thereon extending outwardly and also extending downwardly away from the tip, and a wad of filamentous material twisted about the head, the opposed tip end hook elements comprisng twisting means for the filamentous material, and the barbs comprising anchors to prevent the wad from slipping endwise toward and from the tip of the head. 

1. An abrading and polishing device comprising a straight wire wand having a handle portion and a head portion, the tip of the head portion being split lengthwise and twisted to provide a pair of spaced opposed end hook elements, said head portion having barbs thereon extending outwardly and also extending downwardly away from the tip, and a wad of filamentous material twisted about the head, the opposed tip end hook elements comprisng twisting means for the filamentous material, and the barbs comprising anchors to prevent the wad from slipping endwise toward and from the tip of the head. 